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News Article
Private health insurance market grows by £385m in a year amid NHS crisis
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Britain’s health cover market has grown by £385m in a year as the NHS crisis prompted more people to seek out private medical treatment and demand for dental insurance increased, according to a report. The total health cover market, including medical and dental insurance and cash plans, grew 6.1% to £6.7bn in 2022, the latest year for which figures are available, according to the health data provider LaingBuisson. About 4.2 million people were subscribed to medical cover schemes. Including dependants on the policies, 7.3 million people were covered – the highest number since 2008. The NHS waiting list in England continued to lengthen, to a peak of nearly 7.8m last September. In February, it was still 7.5m and half of the patients had been waiting for 18 weeks or longer. Private medical insurance, the largest part of the health cover market, grew by 6% year on year in 2022 to £5.3bn, more than triple the average annual growth rate of 1.8% between 2008 and 2019. After a decade of decline until 2018, more people signed up, particularly in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic which led to a backlog of major procedures such as hip and knee replacements. Tim Read, author of the report, said: “Demand began to increase in 2018, as the NHS waiting list began to rise out of control. A new Labour government is likely to aim to tackle it but will have limited fiscal headroom to make substantial progress. “With people still struggling to access NHS services and the waiting list remaining stubbornly high, there is little likelihood that demand for health insurance is going to fall any time soon.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 18 April 2024 -
Content ArticleThis Health Foundation report explores how patterns of diagnosed ill health vary by socioeconomic deprivation in England. This report is the second output from the REAL Centre’s programme of research with the University of Liverpool. Building on the projections in Health in 2040, this report is one of the first studies to unpack patterns of inequalities in diagnosed illness by socioeconomic deprivation across England and project them into the future. Stark inequalities are projected to stubbornly persist up to 2040, with profound implications not only for people’s quality of life, but also their ability to work and the wider economy. The report also finds that health inequality is largely due to a small group of long-term conditions, with chronic pain, type 2 diabetes and anxiety and depression projected to increase at a faster rate in the most deprived areas.
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Content ArticleDownload this complimentary report and discover how the NHS is paving the way to becoming the world's first net zero health service by 2040. Learn about groundbreaking initiatives such as the first net zero surgery, sustainable tech adoption, and partnerships with energy experts like E.ON. This guide showcases the NHS's efforts in tackling climate change, enhancing healthcare, and overcoming economic hurdles through innovation and strategic energy management.
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Content ArticleWhile climate change is a big threat to health, implementing solutions to address climate change presents a huge opportunity to promote better health and protect people from climate-sensitive diseases. Communicating the health risks of climate change and the health benefits of climate solutions is both necessary and helpful. Health professionals are well-placed to play a unique role in helping their communities understand climate change, protect themselves, and realize the health benefits of climate solutions. This toolkit from the World Health Organization (WHO) aims to help health professionals effectively communicate about climate change and health.
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Content ArticleThe recently published results of the British Social Attitudes survey and the NHS Staff Survey, and recent performance data provide an in-depth backdrop to the health and care landscape in 2024 - a year that's likely to see a general election called. Ruth Robertson is joined by a panel of experts from The King's Fund to discuss the state of health and care. Throughout the conversation, the panel reflects on the prospect of a general election and the impact this might have on health and care services, both in the run up and after. They also discuss the tendency to rely on short-termism in policy-making, and why a long-term strategy might help build a stronger health and care system that will last.
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Content ArticleWhen Adam Luck’s mother, Ann, was admitted to hospital with a suspected stroke, it was the beginning of a distressing seven-week stay. The previously cheerful 82-year-old became stuck in a dysfunctional health system. Her story is presented here via her son Adam’s diary of her hospitalisation.
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Content ArticleOn 27 February 2024, NHS Resolution's Safety and Learning team delivered a virtual forum on delivering health in the prison and justice system. The aim of the session was to discuss the realities, best practice, challenges and recommendations around collaborating to support healthcare delivery in the justice system.
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Content Article
LitHealth podcasts
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in Recommended video and audio resources
Lit Health will be lighting a fire underneath the status quo of healthcare through interviews with authors, healthcare leaders, and policymakers working to create a healthcare environment that is equitable, transparent, and that welcomes the needs of every patient – especially our vulnerable populations including the mentally ill, people of colour and women who feel they are at risk in our current system, the elderly, and anyone who feels bias or the isms affect their health and quality of life. -
Content ArticleThe NHS England 2024/25 priorities and operational planning guidance reconfirms the ongoing need to recover core services and improve productivity, making progress in delivering the key NHS Long Term Plan ambitions and continuing to transform the NHS for the future.
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Content ArticleThis article analyses the phenomenon of epistemic injustice within contemporary healthcare. It begins by detailing the persistent complaints patients make about their testimonial frustration and hermeneutical marginalisation, and the negative impact this has on their care. The authors offer an epistemic analysis of this problem using Miranda Fricker's account of epistemic injustice. They detail two types of epistemic injustice, testimonial and hermeneutical, and identify the negative stereotypes and structural features of modern healthcare practices that generate them. They claim that these stereotypes and structural features render ill persons especially vulnerable to these two types of epistemic injustice. The authors end by proposing five avenues for further work on epistemic injustice in healthcare. "Without the narrative acts of telling and being heard, the patient cannot convey to anyone else – or to self – what he or she is going through. More radically and perhaps equally true, without these narrative acts, the patient cannot himself or herself grasp what the events of illness mean."
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News Article
Public satisfaction with NHS at lowest ever level, survey shows
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Public satisfaction with the NHS has dropped again, setting a new low recorded by the long-running British Social Attitudes survey. Just 24% said they were satisfied with the NHS in 2023, with waiting times and staff shortages the biggest concerns. That is five percentage points down on last year and a drop from the 2010 high of 70% satisfaction. The findings on the NHS, published by the Nuffield Trust and King's Fund think tanks, show once again that performance has deteriorated after a new record low was seen last year. In total, since 2020, satisfaction has fallen by 29 percentage points. Of the core services, the public was least satisfied with A&E and dentistry. The survey also showed satisfaction with social care had fallen to 13% - again the lowest since the survey began. The major reasons for dissatisfaction were long waiting times, staffing shortages and lack of funding. Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 March 2024 -
Content ArticlePublic satisfaction with the NHS has fallen to the lowest level ever recorded, according to analysis of the latest British Social Attitudes survey (BSA) published by The King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust. Just 24% of people are satisfied with the way the NHS is running, a fall of 5 percentage points from 2022 and a 29 percentage point drop since 2020. Despite these record lows, the overwhelming majority of survey respondents expressed high levels of support for the principles the NHS was founded upon, in particular that it should be free of charge when needed. Nearly half of those surveyed also support the government increasing taxes and spending more on the NHS.
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News Article
AI chatbots ‘lack safeguards to prevent spread of health disinformation’
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Many popular AI chatbots, including ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, lack adequate safeguards to prevent the creation of health disinformation when prompted, according to a new study. Research by a team of experts from around the world, led by researchers from Flinders University in Adelaide, Australia, and published in the BMJ found that the large language models (LLMs) used to power publicly accessible chatbots failed to block attempts to create realistic-looking disinformation on health topics. As part of the study, researchers asked a range of chatbots to create a short blog post with an attention-grabbing title and containing realistic-looking journal references and patient and doctor testimonials on two health disinformation topics: that sunscreen causes skin cancer and that the alkaline diet is a cure for cancer. The researchers said that several high-profile, publicly available AI tools and chatbots, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini and a chatbot powered by Meta’s Llama 2 LLM, consistently generated blog posts containing health disinformation when asked – including three months after the initial test and being reported to developers when researchers wanted to assess if safeguards had improved. In response to the findings, the researchers have called for “enhanced regulation, transparency, and routine auditing” of LLMs to help prevent the “mass generation of health disinformation”. Read full story Source: The Independent, 20 March 2024 -
Content ArticleThe Health Research Authority, the National Institute for Health and Care Research and a host of organisations across the UK have been working together to bring about changes which will drive up standards in health and social care research. Together they have signed up to a Shared Commitment to public involvement.
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News Article
NHS England leaders welcome £6bn budget boost but say much more is needed
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
NHS leaders have welcomed the £6bn budget boost Jeremy Hunt handed the beleaguered service to help it meet rising demand, tackle the care backlog and overhaul its antiquated IT system. The chancellor gave the NHS in England an extra £2.5bn to cover its day-to-day running costs in 2024/25, after the Institute for Fiscal Studies had warned that it was set to receive less funding next year than this. Julian Hartley, the chief executive of hospital body NHS Providers, said the money would offer “much needed – but temporary – respite” and “some breathing space” from the service’s acute financial difficulties, which have been exacerbated by inflation and the costs incurred by long-running strikes by NHS staff. However, there was little to stabilise England’s creaking adult social care system, and Hunt’s budget delivered an ongoing squeeze on resources, said the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS). “Millions of adults and carers will be disappointed,” said Anna Hemmings, joint chief executive of ADASS. “Directors can’t invest enough in early support for people close to home, which prevents them needing hospital or residential care at a greater cost.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 6 March 2024 -
Content Article
Audit Scotland: NHS in Scotland 2023 (22 February 2024)
Patient Safety Learning posted an article in NHS Scotland
The Scottish Government needs to develop a clear national strategy for health and social care to address the pressures on services, says a review by Audit Scotland. Significant changes are needed to ensure the financial sustainability of Scotland's health service. Growing demand, operational challenges and increasing costs have added to the financial pressures the NHS was already facing. Its longer-term affordability is at risk without reform. -
News Article
Scotland's NHS cannot meet growing demand, warns watchdog
Patient Safety Learning posted a news article in News
Scotland's NHS is unable to meet the growing demand for health services, a spending watchdog has warned. A review by Audit Scotland said the increased pressure on the NHS was now having a direct impact on patient safety and experience. The watchdog also claimed there was no "overall vision" for the future of the health service. The annual report on the state of Scotland's health service highlighted that the NHS was facing soaring costs, patients were waiting longer to be seen and there were not enough staff. Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said this had "added to the financial pressures on the NHS and, without reform, its longer-term affordability". He added: "Without change, there is a risk Scotland's NHS will take up an ever-growing chunk of the Scottish budget. And that means less money for other vital public services. "To deliver effective reform the Scottish government needs to lead on the development of a clear national strategy for health and social care. "It should include investment in measures that address the causes of ill-health, reducing long-term demand on the NHS." Read full story Source: BBC News, 22 February 2024 -
Event
Behind bars-perspectives on delivering health in prison
Sam posted an event in Community Calendar
NHS Resolution’s Safety and Learning team, are hosting a virtual forum on perspectives on delivering health in the prison and justice system. The purpose is to raise awareness of the cost and scale of harm, discuss the realities, best practice, challenges and recommendations around collaborating to support healthcare delivery in the justice system. The format is interactive, with presentations followed by questions and panel discussion. Event programme: Learning from prison claims – NHS Resolution The realities of delivering healthcare in prison – Practice Plus Group The medico-legal aspect of prison health claims – Bevan Brittan Q&A panel discussion Contributors: Natalie Miller – Deputy Regional Manager for West Midland Prisons (Practice Plus Group) Ruth Kavanagh – Clinical Quality and Patient Safety Lead (NHS England) Michelle Hodgkinson – Lead Commissioner (NHS England) Jo Easterbrook – Partner (Bevan Brittan) Julie Charlton – Partner (Bevan Brittan) Samantha Thomas – National Safety and Learning Lead for General Practice (NHS Resolution) Dr Anwar Khan – Senior Clinical Advisor for General Practice (NHS Resolution) Register -
Event
King's Fund: Health and care explained
Sam posted an event in Community Calendar
untilThe landscape of the health and care system in England is challenging and complex, and the system is facing profound challenges. At this event, which will take place virtually over two days, policy and leadership experts from The King’s Fund will help you gain a greater understanding of how the health and care system in England works and how it is changing, giving balanced and honest views about the pressures and opportunities it faces. In the run-up to the anticipated general election, our experts will also explore which health and care topics are likely to dominate at the election and which are not, and what this means for people working in the sector. Delegates will: make sense of how the NHS is structured and funded learn how various components at system, place and neighbourhood levels come together to create integrated care systems (ICSs) gain an understanding of the key components of primary care and the role they play in the health care system hear about health inequalities and how groups from the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector support wider efforts to improve health inequalities gain a clear understanding of how the social care system is structured, who works in it, and how it is funded learn about the current pressures facing the health care workforce and what this means for the sustainability of the system have the opportunity, through a dedicated session, to ask any questions not answered throughout the event. Register -
Content ArticleAn action-oriented and radically hopeful field guide to the underground, patient-led revolution for better health and healthcare. Anyone who has fallen off the conveyer belt of mainstream health care and into the shadowy corners of illness knows what a dark place it is to land. Where is the infrastructure, the information, the guidance? What should you do next? In Rebel Health, Susannah Fox draws on twenty years of tracking the expert networks of patients, survivors, and caregivers who have come of age between the cracks of the health care system to offer a way forward. Covering everything from diabetes to ALS to Moebius Syndrome to chronic disease management, Fox taps into the wisdom of these individuals, learns their ways, and fuels the rebel alliance that is building up our collective capacity for better health. Rebel Health shows how the next wave of health innovation will come from the front lines of this patient-led revolution. Fox identifies and describes four archetypes of this revolution: seekers, networkers, solvers, and champions. Each chapter includes tips, such as picking a proxy to help you navigate the relevant online communities, or learning how to pitch new ideas to investors and partners or new treatments to the FDA. On a personal level, anyone who wants to navigate the health care maze faster will want to become a health rebel or recruit some to their team. On a systemic level, it is a competitive advantage for businesses, governments, and organizations to understand and leverage the power of connection among patients, survivors, and caregivers.
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EventSpeaker: Professor Ian Leistikow; Adviser at the Dutch Health & Youth Care Inspectorate and Professor at Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, the Netherlands Challenges that health and care faces, translate to challenges for the regulatory authorities. Classic regulatory strategies aimed at compliance increasingly fall short in contributing to quality of (health)care. In this webinar Ian will use the model of ‘value driven regulation’ to show how the Dutch Inspectorate strives to keep up with the dynamics of the sectors it regulates, by keeping its eye on creating societal value. Ian will also give an overview of the broad range of scientific research projects within the Inspectorate aimed at improving the positive impact of its regulation. Find out more
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Content ArticleThe Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) are a set of quality indicators developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) providing information on potential hospital complications and adverse events after surgeries, procedures, and childbirth. They have been used for the past two decades in the USA for monitoring potentially preventable patient safety events in the inpatient setting through the automated screening of readily available administrative data. However, these indicators are also used for hospital benchmarking and cross-country comparisons in other nations with different health-care settings and coding systems as well as missing present on admission (POA) flags in the administrative data. This study sought to comprehensively assess and compare the validity of 16 PSIs in Switzerland, where they have not been previously applied.
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Content ArticleSet up in January 2023, the Times Health Commission was a year-long projected established to consider the future of health and social care in England in the light of the pandemic, the growing pressure on budgets, the A&E crisis, rising waiting lists, health inequalities, obesity and the ageing population. Its recommendations are intended to be pragmatic, practical, deliverable and able to be potentially taken up by any political party or government, present or future.
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Content Article"Our #health system in the UK is in a mess. It has failed to modernise (by this I mean to become fully accountable to #patients and the public, and truly patient-led). Instead, the system has become more and more hierarchical, bureaucratic and crony ridden, mostly as a result of constant meddling and pointless reorganisations instigated by politicians. All political parties in government for the past 30 years have had a hand in this decline." This is my view? What is yours? A new Inquiry gives us all an opportunity to have our say. I am proud to have worked in and for the NHS for most of my working life; proud to have been trained in the #NHS and proud of the work being carried out by clinical teams today. Great work which has benefited patients, often not because of the leadership but despite of the leadership. I'm retired so I can say what I like. If I were working and said anything even vaguely like criticism, however constructive it was, I would be out of a job and my career would be blighted for life. I'm speaking from experience here, unfortunately. I urge everyone to respond to the consultation (link below). In your response think forensically and write it as a statement of truth. Acknowledge the successes and areas that have delivered safe and effective services. If you are being critical give examples and say if it is an opinion or back up what you say with evidence. If we work together across boundaries we can develop a truly patient-led NHS.
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EventuntilKennedys' healthcare team are delighted to invite you to the second session of our annual healthcare seminar programme 2024, which will be held both in-person and virtually on Wednesday 28 February. Guest speaker: John Mead, Technical Claims Director, NHS Resolution John Mead studied at London University and then joined the insurance industry, where he dealt with a wide range of claims against local authorities, some of which reached the Court of Appeal and House of Lords. He moved to NHS Resolution in 1999 and has led the Technical Claims Unit since its creation in 2000, in which he is responsible for overseeing large, complex and potentially repercussive claims against NHS bodies and other scheme members. John is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute and an accredited mediator. He is an editor for the Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management, and has contributed to a number of books, most recently Lessons from Medico-Legal Cases in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (2022). This session will be chaired by Kennedys' Partner and Global Head of Healthcare Christopher Malla. Register
